Decorative panel



March 14, 1957 ABRAMS 3,308,875

DECORATIVE PANEL Filed 00%;. 23, 1964 I70 WILLIAM L. ABRAMS BY I7 I80 lSb Wa /M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,308,875 DECORATIVE PANEL William L. Abrams, 29 Warnock Drive, Westport, Conn. 06880 Filed Oct. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 405,905 7 Claims. (Cl. 160-369) The present invention relates to articles of decoration and more specifically to a self-attaching decorative panel for wire-screened porch enclosures, wire screen doors and windows, and the like.

With the increase in style consciousness or aesthetic awareness of the population, more and more heretofore undecorated articles have been dressed up or embellished to improve, to modify, or even to conceal their basic appearance; however, conventional decorating media have not been adequate for the decoration of the screening employed in common structures, such as screened porches, window screens and the like. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a decorative panel which may be readily attached to and removed from a wire screen support for the purposes of decorating the same.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, a frame carrying a decorative fabric is provided with special rigid, non-distortable locking means at its corners. As an important aspect of the invention, the frame is provided with suflicient flexibility to accommodate its flexion and to permit insertion of the rigid locking means into a wire screen or, alternatively, to permit removal of the locking means therefrom.

While the decorative panel is intended primarily for enhancing the aesthetic appearance of an otherwise drab and colorless wire screen or wire mesh, it may also be used to advantage to provide degrees of privacy or to conceal minor faults or small holes in the supporting screen. These and other attendant advantages of the present invention may be better understood by making reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a screened enclosure having decorative panels affixed thereto in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan view showing details of construction of a present embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a decorative panel embodying the principles of the invention showing its front side; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary plan view of the decorative panel showing details of the construction of the rear side.

With reference to FIG. 1, a screened enclosure is intended to be the typical environment in which the decorative panel of the present invention is intended to be employed. Such an environment includes a mesh screen or wire cloth material 11 supported then in an appropriate structure 12 which, alternatively, may take the form of window screens, a screen door or a like screen article. The mesh size of the most commonly employed screen material in such articles is sixteen; that is to say, there are sixteen openings 7 (FIG. 2) per linear inch, defined by warp wires 8 and weft wires 9. As shown, the otherwise uninteresting or drab appearance of the screen is enhanced by the attachment thereto of relatively large decorative panels 13, which may have any desired predetermined geometric shape, although as illustrated in FIG. 1, the present embodiments are in the general form of a rectangle or a parallelogram.

In the present embodiment, shown in FIGS. 2-5, the

decorative panel 13 is substantially square and includes an internal frame 14 having an integral locking means 15a, 15b projecting from the upper and lower corners, respectively, thereof and an external decorative sheet material 16 stretched over and supported by the frame, as shown clearly in FIG. 4. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the frame is constructed of two horizontal frame members 17 and two vertical frame members 18, which are arranged with their outer portions 17a and 18a, respectively, in intersecting relation. As shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal and vertical members are permanently joined at their intersection by a weld 19. In accordance with the principles of the invention, the frame members are made of a high quality steel wire of the type commonly available under the designations of piano wire or surgical wire, which materials have been found to passess suflicient resiliency, durability and rigidity for their intended purposes. For frames 14 having dimensions of approximately ten inches by ten inches, number eight piano wire has been found to be especially suitable.

The locking means 15a, 15b are advantageously formed by the end portions 17a, 18a of the frame members which, advantageously, as shown, are of unequal lengths. In a typical embodiment in which the predetermined geometric configuration is that of a ten-inch square, the end portion 17a will be of one-tenth inch (or slightly greater than the length of one mesh opening 7), while the portion 18a will extend three-eighths of an inch. More specifically, the longer end portion 18a is reshaped to extend perpendicularly from the plane of the frame 14 for approximately one-eighth of an inch and then to extend outwardly from the frame and parallel to the plane thereof for a quarter of an inch (approximately the length of four mesh openings 7). In the construction of the decorative panel, the reshaping of the longer ends 18a is performed before the welding of the frame members 17, 18. Thus, in accordance with one particular aspect of the invention, both end portions 17a, 18a are subjected to a heating operation during the Welding and immediately thereafter are quenched to impart substantial rigidity thereto in comparison with the central portions of the frame members 17, 18 which retain their resiliency.

The sheet material 16 is advantageously a fabric bear ing a suitable design or decorative motif D, and is weatherproofed to enhance its durability for contemplated outdoor use of the panel. The fabric, which may be either translucent or opaque to achieve differing decorative effects, is secured to the completed frame, as shown in FIG. 5, by the formation of a hem 20 which is appropriately stitched to the interior body portion along a seam 21.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, the completed decorative panel may be simply and efficiently attached to a supporting screen 11 with a minimum of effort, and, when desired, may be removed therefrom (for rearrangement, cleaning, or replacement of the fabric) With equal facility. Thus, to attach the new decorative panel to the wire mesh, it is only necessary to grasp the frame 14 of the panel and to insert the two upper locking means 15a into the mesh opening of the supporting screen and thereafter to flex frame members 18 to thereby shorten or decrease the effective overall dimensions of the frame by about four mesh openings (one-fourth inch). While retaining the frame in the flexed condition, it is only necessary to locate the lower locking means 15b in mesh openings 7 of the supporting screen, spaced apart distances corresponding to the dimensions of the frame 14, ten inches, for example, with the members 18a on an outer side of the plane of the supporting screen 11 and the member 17a on the inner side of the screen, as shown clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3. Release of the flexed screen will cause the frame to return to its normal size and will cause the screen to be securely held in place by the bearing of all four locking means 15a, 15b firmly against the screen 11, as should be readily understood and as is clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The locking means which are non-deformable and very rigid as a result of the heat treatment of the fabrication process need not and cannot be deformed in the attachment operation. Accordingly, repeated attachment and detachment is readily possible and insertion of the locking means in the openings 7 is not hampered by distortion of the end portions 17a, 1801. To remove the decorative panels from the wire support, it is only necessary to flex the frame 14 and thereby withdraw the locking means 15a, 15b from their securing engagement with the screen 11.

The decorative panels hereinabove described may be arrayed in end-to-end and side-by-side relation to achieve unusual decorative effects and also to close off screened enclosures for purposes of privacy. Moreover, the arrangement and proportioning of the locking means 15a, 1512 are such that, the panels may be arrayed obliquely with respect to the mesh support, as shown on the lefthand side of FIG. 1, as well as parallel with the mesh, as shown on the right-hand side of FIG. 1. It will be appreciated, that while the panel is not intended to be used as a repair or patch for torn screen material, it may be used to conceal torn or repaired areas of wire screens.

It should be understood that the decorative panel herein specifically illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A decorative panel for attachment to a mesh support having a predetermined mesh size, comprising (a) plurality of elongate frame members having end portions and central body portions,

(b) said frame members being arranged with their end portions in intersecting relation and with their central body portions defining a predetermined closed geometric configuration,

(c) bonding means premanently uniting said members at said intersect-ions to form a frame having said predetermined configuration,

(d) the dimensions of said frame between said bondings means being substantially greater than the openings of said mesh support,

(e) said end portions defining substantially rigid locking means,

(f) sheet material supported by said body portions of said frame and being flexible therewith,

(g) whereby said frame may be fully flexed to accomodate insertion and removal of said locking means from said mesh support.

2. A panel in accordance with claim 1, in which (a) said frame members are constructed of piano wire.

3. A panel in accordance with claim 2, in which (a) said bonding means is a Weld, and

(b) said end portions are tempered and are substantially non-deformable.

4. A panel in accordance with claim 1, in which (a) said intersecting end portions are of unequal length, Y

(b) the longer ones of said intersecting end portions extending in a first direction prependicularly to the plane of said frame for a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the support mesh and then extending in a second direction outwardly of said frame and in -a plane parallel to that of said frame,

(0) the shorter ones of said end portions being disposed in the plane of said frame.

5. A decorative panel for attachment to a screen support having a predetermined mesh size, comprising (a) a pair of elongate horizontal frame members,

(b) a pair of elongate vertical frame members,

(c) said members arrayed in intersecting relation to define a rectangular frame,

(d) Weld means joining said members at their inter-- 6. A decorative panel in accordance with claim 5, in-

which (a) said sheet material is a translucent fabric.

7. A decorative panel in accordance with claim 6, in

which (-a) said sheet material is an opaque fabric.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,487,830 11/1949 Robbins. 2,503,849 4/1950 Smith --369 3,261,393 7/1966 Templeton 160371 X HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DECORATIVE PANEL FOR ATTACHMENT TO A MESH SUPPORT HAVING A PREDETERMINED MESH SIZE, COMPRISING (A) PLURALITY OF ELONGATE FRAME MEMBERS HAVING END PORTIONS AND CENTRAL BODY PORTIONS, (B) SAID FRAME MEMBERS BEING ARRANGED WITH THEIR END PORTIONS IN INTERSECTING RELATION AND WITH THEIR CENTRAL BODY PORTIONS DEFINING A PREDETERMINED CLOSED GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATION, (C) BONDING MEANS PREMANENTLY UNITING SAID MEMBERSS AT SAID INTERSECTIONS TO FORM A FRAME HAVING SAID PREDETERMINED CONFIGURATION, (D) THE DIMENSIONS OF SAID FRAME BETWEEN SAID BONDINGS MEANS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE OPENINGS OF SAID MESH SUPPORT, (E) SAID END PORTIONS DEFINING SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID LOCKING MEANS, (F) SHEET MATERIAL SUPPORTED BY SAID BODY PORTIONS OF SAID FRAME AND BEING FLEXIBLE THEREWITH, (G) WHEREBY SAID FRAME MAY BE FULLY FLEXED TO ACCOMODATE INSERTION AND REMOVAL OF SAID LOCKING MEANS FROM SAID MESH SUPPORT. 